New retail construction is a very fast paced and difficult type of construction due to the constant changing of tenant leases. During new retail construction the developer always tries to get each tenant to incur as much cost as possible, including pouring their own slab. There are numerous reasons for this, mainly due to the deferral of costs to the tenant and also due to the ease and ability to do the underground rough ins. The underground rough ins include the plumbing of restrooms and electrical for the check out counters.
The developer is responsible for different levels of completion in each tenant space depending on the lease. Some tenant spaces are “total build outs” which means the developer does everything in that space including pouring the slab and all of the finishes specified by the tenant. In these cases the Easy Wall Track would not be needed because the wall, known as the demising wall, that separates that space from the adjacent spaces could be erected on the slab already poured. In most cases tenant spaces are “Dark Boxes” which means the developer does nothing but provide the space separated from the other spaces adjacent to it by the demising wall, before the tenant's contractor mobilizes to the space. What causes the problem is when there are two “Dark Boxes” adjacent to one another, because there is no slab in place to erect the demising wall between the two spaces. As an added bonus there is a leave in place metal keyway that gives the Easy Wall Track its vertical support. This almost eliminates all of the formwork needed for the pouring of the concrete slab at a later date. Also the demising walls are subject to be moved if the leases fall thru. The reason for this invention addresses these problems by providing a way to erect the demising wall between these spaces and also allowing the ability to move the Easy Wall Track to another location without it being destroyed during the moving process.
In the past, the only solution to erect a demising wall between two “Dark Box” tenant spaces was to place a small concrete strip for the demising wall to be erected on. If a tenant lease were to fall thru, the developer would have to remove the concrete strip and replace it at a different location to meet the needs of the new lease.
Placing a concrete strip is very expensive and labor intensive to place. Removing the strip involves breaking out the existing concrete; this is very labor intensive. It is also expensive due to the total loss of the materials in the concrete strip. All of these costs are incurred by the developer. These shortcomings also cost valuable days in the fast paced schedule.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a cost efficient assembly and process to erect stud walls prior to the placement of the concrete slab.
It is another object of the invention to provide an assembly and process that provides an efficient way to move tenant demising walls.
It is another object of the invention to eliminate almost all formwork needed for the placement of the concrete slab at a later date.
It is another object of the invention to provide a way to maintain a fast paced schedule.